Casting Aside All Worry as we Trust in Christ

1 John 4:18-19
"18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19 We love, because He first loved us."

NO FEAR IN LOVE! Intimidation, mocking, demeaning, the need to control, and manipulation are all aspects of fear.

 
The perfect love of God casts out fear. One of the works of the enemy is to cause fear to dilute our walk, our progress and keep us stuck in relationships that devalue our walk.

Satan wants to seal our peace. If he can do this we will become disabled in the work God has given us to do.

 
"Fear involves torment." God removes that punishment-based emotion when God casts out fear.

The fear comes when we are performance-based, worrying continually about being exactly what God wants us to be. We need to rest in Christ, so that He will do in us what is needed. We have no need to worry continually that God is angry with us.
Pretenders like rules that bring about guilt over everything. They base their Christianity on how good they think they are without ever repenting from anything.
We love Christ because He first loved us! He works in us, and we can rest in that alone. As He works in us, we grow in holiness and emotional and Spiritual depth.
If we are trying real hard to be right with God, worrying all the time if we have done enough or look good enough to others, then we are walking fleshly, depending on ourselves.

 
May we each seek Christ to change us, grow us and continually grace us with His wisdom so that all worry is cast aside.

Walking with Those Who are Like-Minded

People who think similarly to us are those we can trust because we know they understand us. God said that two cannot walk together who are not agreed!

 
Amos 3:3
"3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?"

2 Corinthians 6:14
"Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?"

1 Corinthians 1:10
"I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction."

Philippians 2:2
"then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose."

Ephesians 4:3
"and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

John 17:21
"that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me."

There is only one way believers can agree, and that is for all concerned to be seeking the Holy Spirit in all things. There can be no unity when there is pride and self-seeking to appear superior. Christ is our unity, and He says the same thing to every believer if they will seek Him.

 
I have witnessed ungodly spouses, even those who attend church, cause a regression in the spirit of their marriage partner because of the influence of their spouse. It grieves my heart to watch the degradation of the believing spouse married to a pretender. Choosing a life-mate who will honor God is vital for those who trust in Christ. To discern this, we must be in the Word and prayer, refusing to give in to the ungodly worldly ways of a pretender.

 
Many people who love God are married to pretenders, diluting the Spiritual and emotional growth of the believer. One must be very strong to remain faithful to Christ when they are continually battered by he pretender with accusations that are against God's Word.

 
Pretenders can only have a form of godliness but they deny the ways of Christ through scripture twisting and hostility to correction from the word. This is the world we live in now, most people in church gatherings are pretenders, never going emotionally and spiritually while diluting the walk of others.

 
2 Timothy 3:13 "wicked people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived."

Philippians 4:6-7
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Isaiah 41:10
"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

Labels Mean Very Little Attitudes and Actions are Everything

"The Experts" in the psychology industry say that there is a particular criterion that diagnoses narcissism, and without those particular traits listed, one cannot be labeled a narcissist.

 
However, from my perspective, if someone is consistently rude, covert, and mean, it doesn't matter whether they are labeled or not; they still remain someone reasonable people would not enjoy considering their friends.

 
There have been times when I shared with someone a private thought because they seemed open and even asked questions, believing it would be held in confidence, only to find out later they shared that information with others, with a twist of their own interpretation.

 
When we see this happen, we know the person sharing the information, changing it to fit their desired narrative, is not a person who can be trusted with personal information.

 
Betraying our trust is a deal-breaker for a relationship. When we love people, we don't spend time judging every little thing, and we don't share sensitive things with those who love gossip. Making guesses about people without enough information is a tactic favored by the narcissist. And, with gossip, there is never enough truth expressed. They love to embellish tidbits of a story to make it sound worse than it is or to sound bad when it was actually good.

 
Proverbs 11:13: "A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret."

 
Proverbs 20:19: "He who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid the one who babbles with his lips."

 
Gossip is sharing information about others that has nothing to do with us. Sharing a story of something that happened to us is not gossip, but we must be careful with whom we share; there are few people in our day who will keep a confidence, share in our trials, and believe us when we are vulnerable.

 
James 3:14-16
"But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice."

Jealousy and envy are at the root of gossip that ultimately ruins the reputations of others and without understanding of the true events.

(Envy, wanting what others have, and jealousy is not wanting them to have it.)

1 Corinthians 3:3
"for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man?"

Ephesians 4:31
"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice."

Proverbs 16:28
"A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends."
When we love one another, we are pleased about our friend's blessings, even sharing in those feelings of happiness for our friend."

 
Romans 12:15 "Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep."

Galatians 6:1-3 "1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.…"

John 13:34-35
"A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”

Romans 15:1-2
"We who are strong ought to bear with the shortcomings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up."

1 Corinthians 12:25-26
"So that there should be no division in the body, but that its members should have mutual concern for one another. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."

When we live into the love of Christ, our walk with Christ will be sweet, and those we love will be blessed.

And finally, God's love is far different from man's love, it is selfless, enduring and resolution-oriented. 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
"4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. 5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, 6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

Follow Christ Alone!

No one can follow Christ if they are dedicated to unbiblical traditions of men!

Corrupted: 4 Dangerous Doctrines That Entered the Church After Constantine

Heaping Hot Coals of Kindness to Cause Frustration is Sin

Being kind to someone just to cause guilt in them is manipulation and not love. Hot coals of kindness do not work when it is with the desire to further harm someone; this is not kindness at all but ruthlessness.

When God said we might heap hot coals of kindness by our good deeds toward someone, He never meant that the goal was to make someone feel bad or frustrated. The goal was to have compassion and love in your heart.

If anyone is using the "hot coals of kindness" to foster frustration in another person, then they are not true "hot coals of kindness,s" they are manipulation to hurt someone.

Those who do this hate the loss of control over the person who has walked away and must have a sense of gaining control back again.  This is not love it is hate.

 
Romans 12:20 " if your enemy is hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink. "

The purpose of being kind is to reflect the love of Christ. If the goal of the hot coal dispenser is to control the emotions of another it is revenge.

 
A show of kindness to frustrate is not kindness at all! Narcissists often misuse scripture to justify their bad acts.

 
Love never seeks to hurt or frustrate; it seeks to mend and restore!

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
"4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. 5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, 6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

Church Gatherings are for Those Who have been Changed by Christ into a New Creation

No one attends a church gathering to be saved. We go there to edify one another in the Word. The unsaved should not be in the gathering with believers unless they happen to wander in desiring to learn.

 
When we "invite" unbelievers to the gathering who come just to please us because we are friends, they are not coming to seek God; they are coming for a social club. This is why most gatherings are full of unsaved people who never change. They a;re encouraged to remain as they are through friendliness without correction.

 
The gathering of believers is to edify one another,r build up our spiritual walk to go from there into the world to evangelize. The gathering is not for evangelism; it is for the building up of the saints.

 
When we speak the gospel in the world and someone becomes saved, then we bring them into the gathering as a saint, and they are going to be built up to go and do their part as led by the Holy Spirit to speak of Christ to other unsaved people.

 
Ephesians 4:29
"Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen."

Colossians 3:16
"Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."

Hebrews 10:24-25
"And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

1 Corinthians 14:26
"What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a psalm or a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. All of these must be done to build up the church."

Unbelievers ought not to be invited to the gathering of believers whose focus is on edifying the saints. Teaching them to do things that only believers should do, that is, teaching and the gospel, dilutes the gathering rather than encouraging obedience to Christ.

 
I knew of a gathering we attended once that allowed an unbeliever to speak. He didn't use any Bible; his talk was completely worldly and lacking in faith. The people foolishly wanted him to keep coming, so they didn't correct him, and the lies that he told remained unchallenged as he was led to believe he did a good job.
Sadly, no one was edified, and one couple was deeply agitated, detracting from edification, eventually leaving out of frustration that they were seen as the troublemakers for not "encouraging" the false teacher.

 
That day when the apostate was allowed to preach, those who wished to love and edify one another were shut down in favor of this sinner who did not understand the things of God.

1 Corinthians 2:14 "The natural man cannot understand the things of God because they are spiritually discerned."

 
When a gathering of believers is dedicated to being "friendly," willing to ignore the Scriptures to please those who are unregenerate, this is an apostate gathering, not pleasing God and frustrating anyone who desires the pure truth of the Word.

 
Ephesians 5:19-20
"Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Most gatherings today follow traditions of men rejecting most of what the Bible teaches while claiming they are "Bible believing" Christians. This is the reason I don't pay much attention to words; the actions will tell you if the words are true.
Matthew 15:7-8 "…7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: 8‘ These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. 9 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’ "

When we have confronted false teaching and the hearer reacts with anger, we have our answer about their walk, it is worldly and they are full of anger. Angry responses do not occur unless the spirit of the man is an angry spirit.

 
Proverbs 22:24 "Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man,"

James 1:20 "For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God."

Ecclesiastes 7:9 "Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools."

If we want to be edified in the Word, walk closely with Christ, and grow in holiness, we must limit our circle of friends to those who love Christ and love His Word.